Permanent bird feeding devices having a large variety of sizes, shapes and arrangements for distributing seed have been long known in the art. Most of these arrangements, in order to be long-lasting, have resorted to the use of materials, such as wood which, while providing for prolonged use, nonetheless increases the cost of the feeder. Additionally, such feeders present problems with the storage of seed needed to continually refill these feeders and with the actual refilling process, which takes time and which can be problematic in cold and rainy weather. Examples of such feeders are disclosed in U.S. Letters Pat. Nos. 2,634,705 issued to Mayes; 3,115,865 issued to Parkes et al.; 3,198,172 issued to Crane, Jr. ; and D251,688 issued to Kimbrough II.
To alleviate problems involved with the storage of seed and with the refilling of the feeder, bird feeding devices have been disclosed that include a disposable feed "cartridge" that is used with a reusable feeder. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Letters Pat. Nos. 2,865,326 issued to Lowe, Jr.; and 3,777,711 issued to Gampp. While such devices help to alleviate the problems associated with seed storage and refilling, problems associated with cost nonetheless remain.
It has also been disclosed to provide entirely disposable bird feeders. Those such bird feeders, of which I am aware, are as follows:
______________________________________ Inventor Patent No. ______________________________________ Early 2,775,226 Early 2,891,711 Kuhn 3,179,244 Woodling 3,354,868 Lawlin et al. 3,441,002 Tucci 3,602,196 Melrath 3,945,344 Salick 4,026,244 Winston 4,104,987 Keefe 4,223,637 Olson 4,747,370 ______________________________________
In addition, I am aware of several commercially available bird feeders. One of these is a compressed mixture of seed and bird feed in the shape of a bell with a hook means extending upwardly from the apex of the bell shape. Another feeder is a cylindrical tube with a hook means extending upwardly from the top. The cylinder contains bird feed and has a plurality of openings around the circumference near the bottom edge of the cylinder. A small platform is connected to the bottom of the cylinder. Birds perch on the platform and must insert their beaks into the openings to obtain the feed; the feed does not fall from the openings.
Each of these references, while being helpful and useful for their purposes, nonetheless suffers from a particular drawback, such as a complexity, structure or design. Thus, there still remains a need for a disposable bird feeding device for distributing bird feed that is simple, easy to construct for use, inexpensive, relatively durable without the use of high cost materials and which is easily disposable after the bird seed has been consumed.